Why are the Chinese more important to Thailand than Western tourists?

Western tourists are no longer an important group for the Thai tourism industry. For good reason, they are now regarded as just a "niche". The number of Chinese visitors to Thailand has grown steadily in recent years despite many problems and inconveniences.

In terms of numbers of international visitors in Thailand, the Chinese are by far the number one among the 15 main countries entering the country. As can be seen in the chart below, the Chinese account for around 57.48% of Thailand's international visitors by March 31, 2019. In second and third place are the Indians with "only" (4.3%) and the Koreans with 3.53%. The number of German tourists in Thailand, however, has slipped below the one percent mark and is only 0.74% .

Statistics of International Arrivals till the 31 March 2019:

China 57,48%
other Countries 18,00%
Russia 4,98%
India 4,38%
Japan 4,28%
Vietnam 3,70%
Korea 3,53%
Indonesia 1,66%
Taiwan 1,66%
Hongkong 1,61%
U.K 1,47%
France 1,22%
Germany 0,74%
USA 0,66%
Ukraine 0,51%
Malaysia 0,26%

The Chinese are currently (2019) 57.48% of all tourists in Thailand from. However, it must also be said that these figures are all the more surprising, since only 8.7% of all Chinese (120 million) currently have a passport and can travel abroad.

According to Jing Travel, Chinese arrivals in Thailand could double by 2020 - that's 240 million Chinese (compared to 363% of the UK population (66 million). And one can confidently assume that the number of Chinese tourists will continue to increase in the coming years, reports Jing Travel.

They also claim that Chinese travelers leaving their country for the first time travel abroad are more likely to travel near their homes, such as Vietnam and, as you suspect, Thailand.

Therefore, it is no wonder for many travel and tourism experts that Thailand wants to increase the number of its tourists from 38 million by 2030 to more than 79 million visitors.

The Chinese spend more on their vacation.

Very often one hears the statements of European tourists that they would like to see the expenditure per capita of the Chinese in writing. That's to suggest that they are very low compared to the other nations. However, this statement may differ further from the truth, as shopping for the Chinese is an important factor for the holiday.

Chinese spending on Thailand is $ 15,342,000,000 a year, far more than any other country.

The average spending per day for a Chinese tourist in Thailand is $ 192. That's a whopping 53% more than the average spending of Europeans, which is around $ 125 a day.

Another important factor in the steady growth of Chinese tourists is the sharp increase in the gross domestic product (GDP) of the Chinese vis-à-vis the USA.

In 2009, GDP in China was still far below that of the US. However, that has changed since 2016, after China overtook the US. Since then, Chinese GDP has continued to grow year by year, above US GDP.

If you believe the experts, that is not the end of the flagpole for China's gross domestic product. As you can see from the graph, the Chinese could continue to grow in the coming years. This will not change the trade war between China and the US, speculate the financial experts.

An employee of a company that worked with the TAT reports that he read an interesting report from the Thai Tourism Authority (TAT) several years ago.

The Chinese spend on average about 20% or more than Europeans / Americans / Aussies. However, it was very interesting where they spend their money. Chinese tourists traditionally return to China with expensive gifts for their friends and relatives. This is a "matter of the face", which is why they are often willing to spend a large part of their total expenses on these gifts from Thailand.

But what are the Chinese buying in Thailand, always coming up as a question. According to the TAT report, these Chinese go into the so-called high-end shops and buy there almost exclusively branded goods.

In contrast to western tourists, there are usually no small shops, smaller guest houses or restaurants. Although they spend more money, much, if not most, of their money goes to foreign companies and their wealthy Thai partners.

Only a relatively small proportion of their expenditure goes directly to local traders and local SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises).

The tourists, who benefit most from the Thai SMEs, are in fact the often poorly respected backpackers, according to the TAT report.

In a blog posted by "DanaboutThailand" last year, he also talked to numerous hoteliers about the Chinese. And about what the hoteliers felt about the Chinese. In summary, it was a big thumbs up. They pay more for a room, pay immediately and do not moan when they are at the hotel.

The Thai hoteliers agreed that they prefer the Chinese traveler. They like to see us Westerners moan about everything and this often leads to a discount on the room rate. For Western tourists, the money is often not displayed due to the method of payment for one month (eg at Agoda, etc.). At the Chinese tour group they pay immediately and in advance, and - and that has shocked Dan in his block - they pay more than the western room rate. Western tourists are lowering the room rate and the Chinese tourist is pushing him back up.

A Pattaya hotelier also told us that Westerners misunderstand everything when we say that the Chinese are not putting money into the local economy. He said western visitors do not visit any attractions in Thailand, but the Chinese visit up to 5 attractions daily from Nong Nooch Gardens to Miss Tiffanys. On a 5-day journey, there are 25 places. Yes, of course, they will also visit the tour operators, but that is perhaps only 20 - 25% of the total organized trips.

It's amazing how fast this tourism change took place in Thailand. It is only yesterday that it feels like Thailand was reserved almost exclusively for the western traveler. Well, these days are definitely over - and they have made a spectacular shift to the east.

Sources: Thai Visa, Nikkei Asian Review, Thailand Tip Info, The Thaiger, Chines Tourist Agency, The Star Online